Your credit card provides over $1,000 of benefits you may not even know about. As a huge nerd, over the last few years I systematically tested each of these benefits to figure out what the best ones are.

But there's another, lesser-known benefit that I think is the best benefit of all: purchase protection. Purchase protection means that if you buy something and it gets stolen or accidentally damaged, your credit card company will write you a check for up to $1,000.

Advertisement

Here's how I discovered this perk: I bought my first Mac laptop and a few days later, while working at a coffee shop, I accidentally spilled an entire cup of coffee right into the keyboard. Not good. After drying it out, I took it to a repair shop to get a quote on repair. Then, I called my credit card company and told them about the accident. They said, "No problem. Send us the estimate."

After I sent the estimate, they wrote me a check for $530. I then sold the laptop for parts on eBay for $661.65. Overall, with fees and expenses, I lost about $200 for a $1,300 laptop—not great, but not bad. Had I not made a critical mistake in sending the wrong paperwork, I actually would have broken totally even.

Your credit card offers these perks to anyone. They want you to use them. But few people know about them, and even fewer take advantage of them. By using even a few of these perks, you can save well over $1,000/year.

Advertisement

If you're curious about the full list of perks your credit card offers, I'm making the entire chapter of my New York Times best-selling book available for free for Lifehacker readers, where I cover exactly how to get the most out of your credit card. No opt-in required. Download the free chapter here.

Ramit Sethi is the author of the New York Times bestseller, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He's used these interview techniques to land job offers at companies like Google, Intuit, and a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund.